Tourist caught-on-camera smashing crystal-studded ‘Van Gogh’ chair at art museum

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A tourist was caught-on-camera crushing a Swarovski crystal-encrusted chair inside a museum in Italy – then taking off.

Palazzo Maffei in Verona took to social media to display the actions of a tourist who was caught sitting on a chair, leading to its collapse and crashing to the ground.

“The nightmare of every museum has become a reality, even at Palazzo Maffei,” was the statement the museum shared on their Facebook page, supplemented with the attached surveillance video.

“What you just saw would be ridiculous if it hadn’t, unfortunately, actually happened,” a museum employee says during the video.

Restored artwork

According to the museum, they managed to restore the valuable artwork just a few days after it was damaged by a tourist. (Palazzo Maffei Verona via Facebook)

However, thanks to efforts by numerous individuals, the museum shared that they were able to successfully save the work of art.

“Heartfelt thanks go to the police, our security department and the restorers, whose valuable work allowed the recovery of the work,” the museum shared.

“We share this episode not only for the record, but to start a real awareness campaign on the value of art and the respect it is due.” 

It’s unclear how much it cost to fix the art display. It is also unclear if the culprits were ever identified or if they would face any consequences.

Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, national crime cases, illegal immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com

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